Friction pad clothing support and method of use

ABSTRACT

A friction pad clothing support device that is attached to the waistband of a garment such as, pants, shorts, or skirt and increases the ability of the waistband to support the garment in the desired position. The front surface of the friction pad has a tacky surface that engages the body or the shirt of the wearer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Styles and clothing change from one generation to the next and oftenchange markedly from year to year. However, there are instances wherethe clothing was not significantly changed but, how the clothing is wornbecomes the fashion statement.

The waistline in pants is one area where the manner of wear has evolved.For instance Levi's™ has been manufacturing substantially the same 501™jeans or denim pants, since 1873 and the California Gold Rush, however,how the pants are worn has changed. When the pants were firstintroduced, historical photographs show, the pants worn high, above thehips, with the waistband just below the naval. At present, both men andwomen wear the pants with the waistband riding on the waist or directlyon the hipbones. The younger generations still wear the Levi's 501jeans, but the waistband is worn below the hips or even lower.

At whatever level a person decides to wear his or her pants, that personwould like the article of clothing to stay where they put it.Unfortunately, this is not always the case, especially with persons whoare challenged with narrow hips, a large waistline or with excessweight. The truth is, that as soon as they begin walking, gravity takesover, and their pants begin to fall down. The person may attempt tosecure or elevate their pants using one or both of their hands but, thiseffort is typically fruitless, and they find themselves constantlyraising the level of the waistband. This problem is exacerbated when theperson engages in rigorous physical activity such as strenuous work,exercise or an athletic endeavor such as basketball or golf; theseactivities exert additional forces on the pants and they typicallyrequire the person to have their hands free. Use of one's hands to keepone's pants from falling down is burdensome and frustrating.

Support of articles of clothing including pants has been a perennialproblem and the attempted solutions are myriad.

A belt worn over the waistband of the pants allows a person to adjustthe pressure that the waistband exerts against the body. However,typically the pants will still ride down until the waistband, with belt,rests on the user's hipbones. If the pants are placed at a level belowthe hipbones, the belt is of little effect and the pants will end upnear the person's feet unless the wearer intervenes.

Suspenders such those shown in U.S. Pat. No. 322,480 to Potter or U.S.Pat. No. 1,926,751 to Mix are widely used and provide substantialsupport for the users pants. However, many users are self-consciousabout the need to wear suspenders and attempt to conceal them under ajacket, sweater or with and un-tucked shirt.

In some cases additional accoutrements have been installed into thewaistbands of pants and skirts to increase the friction between thewaistband the wearer's body or shirt. These include a waistband U.S.Pat. No. 2,590,616 to Heller, where a frictional means is added throughthe length of the waistband to obtain frictional retention of an engagedshirt. U.S. Patent Application 2007/0067889 by Spiewak et al. describesusing friction pads sewn onto the tails of a police uniform shirt withcorresponding pads sewn into the pants, to support the pants while underthe weight of a service belt, carrying items such as a sidearm,handcuffs and a nightstick. Friction devices sewn, integrally formed, oradhesively attached to the inside of the waistband of pants is widelyknown in the associated art, they provide improved support of thewearer's pants, without the conspicuous nature of a belt or suspenders.However, friction devices are not included in most pants or skirts andwhen they are included they are a permanent feature of the garment.

What is needed is a friction device that can be attached by the wearerto any garment having a waistband such as pants, or a skirt, which canalso be removed by the wearer, and reinstalled in a different article ofclothing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a friction pad device that is attached to thewaistband of any garment having a waistband such as, pants, shorts or askirt and increases the ability of the waistband to support the garmentin the desired position.

The friction pad can be formed in any standard shape, such as a circle,oval, square, rectangle etc. Or can be formed into a custom shaperepresenting something in nature, art or the profile of a company logoor trademark. The friction pad can be formed using a variety ofmaterials, natural or synthetic, such as, but not limited to, rubber,foam rubber, visco elastic foam, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), suedeleather, leather, neoprene or silicone. The friction pads can be formedhaving a uniform thickness across a section of the pad, or may betapered to better engage the users body. The pads may be formed from asolid piece of the selected friction material, having a uniform density,or may be formed having a pocket or bladder filled with air or viscousliquid such as silicone gel. The pads may also be comprised of acombination of materials, such as, having a backing, with a frictionmaterial top cover and including a compressible filing such as cotton,polyester batting, foam rubber, visco elastic foam, etc.

The wearer may permanently attach the friction pads to the waistbandusing a suitable adhesive, heat sensitive adhesive, or the friction padsmaybe sewn into the garment. The friction pads may also be removablyattached to the garment using a clip, clasp, hook and loop fastener,hook and eye, snaps, or button and buttonhole engagement. The buttonholeengagement is designed to use the buttons already in place on most highquality dress or suit pants, normally used to attach braces orsuspenders. Removable friction pads allow the user to transfer a singleset of friction pads to any pair of pants or skirt and customize the fitof the garment. The friction pads may also be removed prior to washingor dry cleaning.

A permanently attached friction pad or a friction pad attached using,hook and loop fastener, hook and eye, snaps, or interior buttons, willnot be visible or be evident in anyway to the casual observer; allowingthe wearer to avoid the embarrassment sometimes caused by suspenders.The clip attachment will overlap the waistband of the garment, but canbe concealed with a belt or jacket or can be camouflaged using paint,fabric, or other materials matching the wearer's garment.

The friction pads will significantly increase the engagement of thewaistband with body or shirt of the wearer and help maintain the garmentin the desired position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1; waistband with friction pads attached.

FIG. 2; plan view of a first embodiment of a friction pad device.

FIG. 3; cross-section of a first embodiment of a friction pad.

FIG. 4; a friction pad with spring waistband clip.

FIG. 5; a friction pad with a spring close or cam-closing clasp.

FIG. 6; friction pad including tabs for button attachment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a friction pad 11 attached to the waistband 21 of a pair ofpants 20. The friction pad 11 can be attached to the inside of anygarment having a waistband 21 that sufficiently engages the waist of thewearer. The friction pad 11 is made from a material that providessubstantial friction against the body of the wearer or against anygarment, such as a shirt or undershirt worn between body and thefriction pad 11. Additionally, the material of the friction pad 11 mustbe compressible, non-irritating and not cause the wearer any discomfort.The friction pad 11 can be made from, but limited to, any one of or anycombination of, EVA, rubber, foam rubber, visco elastic foam, neoprene,silicone, vinyl or leather. The friction pads 11 can be positioned asdesired by the wearer and can be worn singularly, in pairs or more. Asshown, friction pads 11 are positioned in the traditional locations ofwaistband 21 for suspender attachment; the front pads will engage thelower abdomen and hip bones of the wearer and the rear friction pads 11will engage the user on the lower back, above the buttocks. However, awearer may also choose to wear a single pair of friction pads 11 on bothsides of the lower abdomen, just below the hip bone points. Frictionpads 11 can be permanently attached to the waistband 21 of pants 20 byany suitable means, such as self-curing adhesive, heat activatedadhesive, thermal bonding, or sewn. The friction pads 11 can also betemporarily attached to the waistband 21 of pants 20 using an integratedclip or clasp, hook and loop fasteners, hook and eye, snaps, or usingbuttons installed by the wearer or buttons that are previously installedfor the attachment of braces or suspenders.

The friction pad device 10 shown in FIG. 2 includes, friction pad 11,with an attachment edge 12 and a stitch line 13. The friction pad 10 canbe attached to the waistband of the pants using a suitable adhesive orusing mechanical means (not shown). The reverse or bottom side offiction pad device 10 may be roughened or can be formed with a raisedpattern or inclusions that allow for secure attachment when usingadhesive.

FIG. 3 is a section of fiction pad device 10 including friction pad 11and attachment edge 12. The friction pad 11 can be formed having asubstantially uniform cross-section, can be formed having a roundedshape, as shown, or can be formed or modified to an irregular shape tobetter interface with the body and provide improved comfort for thewearer. The friction pad 11 can also be formed as a solid constructionor may be formed as a compressible bladder filled with air or a viscousmaterial such as silicone or visco elastic foam. Friction pad device 10may also be formed using multiple pieces such as a substantially rigidbacking, a tacky or friction providing top-cover, which is shaped orfilled with a compressible material such as cotton batting, foam, orpolyester fill.

The friction pad device 10 in FIG. 4 includes, a friction pad 11integrated with an attachment clip 15. Attachment clip 15 is formed tooverlap the waistband of a garment and securely fasten the friction paddevice 10 to the inside of the waistband. The attachment clip 15 isformed using a resilient material such as steel, stainless steel, springsteel, bronze, plastic, vinyl or polycarbonate. The attachment clip 15can include paint or covering to disguise the use of the friction paddevice 10.

Friction pad device 10 in FIG. 5 includes, friction pad with anattachment clip 15. Attachment clip 15 is formed using a hinge 17 andclasp 16. Clasp 16 is biased in a closed position using a spring orcam-lock currently known in the art.

FIG. 6 shows friction pad device 10 configured to attach to buttons thatare typically sewn into the waistband of high-end or custom suit pantsand trousers. Friction pad device 10 includes friction pad 11 and tabs18 with button holes 19. It is contemplated the in lieu of button holes19, snaps may be attached to tabs 18 as an alternant method ofattachment.

1. A friction pad garment support comprising, a friction pad having afront side and having a backside, the front side having a tacky surfacefor engaging the body of the wearer, a means for fixedly attaching thefriction pad to the inside of a garment waistband.
 2. The friction padof claim 1 wherein, the tacky surface engages a shirt displaced betweenthe friction pad and the wearer.
 3. The friction pad of claim 1 wherein,the friction pad is composed of at least one of, rubber, foam rubber,EVA, visco elastic foam, neoprene, silicone and leather.
 4. The frictionpad of claim 1 wherein, the means of removably attaching the frictionpad is one of, a spring clip, a spring closing clasp, a snap, a hook andeye, hook and loop fasteners, button and button hole, double sidedadhesive tape, or adhesive.
 5. The friction pad of claim 1 wherein, themeans of attaching the friction pad is one of, permanent adhesive, heatsensitive adhesive, thermal bonding, or sewn.
 6. The friction pad ofclaim 1 wherein, the friction pad is a bladder.
 7. The friction pad ofclaim 6 wherein, the bladder is filled with one of, air, inert gas, orviscous material.
 8. The friction pad of claim 7 wherein, the viscousmaterial is one of, visco elastic foam, silicone, silicone gel, orliquid.
 9. A method for securing a garment to the body of a wearercomprising, fixedly attaching a friction pad to the inside of awaistband of a garment, the friction pad having a front surface and arear surface, the front surface of the friction pad comprised of a tackymaterial, the rear surface having a means to fixedly attach the frictionpad to the inside of the waistband, securing the waistband around thewaist of the wearer, the tacky material engages the body of the user andsupports the garment.
 10. The method of claim 9 wherein, the tackymaterial engages a surface of a shirt disposed between the body of thewearer and the friction pad.